Cranberries are connected to the fall and the holidays. Many people only eat this fruit as cranberry sauce with Thanksgiving dinner. However, there is no reason to wait until November to enjoy cranberries, because there are tons of different ways to use them in frozen desserts. Buy extra bags when they are on sale after Thanksgiving and stash them in the freezer. You can use them in any of these frozen treats, which are delicious all year long.

Cranberry Ice Cream

This recipe starts with a very basic cranberry sauce recipe, featuring just cranberries and water. Cooking down the berries softens them and turns them into the perfect consistency for making ice cream. After you make the base for this cranberry ice cream recipe, make sure to chill it until it is completely cold. Ice cream churns best when it is already cold. Don't make your ice cream machine work harder than it needs to.

Applesauce Cranberry Ice

This applesauce cranberry ice is one of the most unique dessert recipes that I've come across. It is light after a big meal and is perfect for Passover. This recipe also uses jellied cranberry sauce, so it's very easy to put together and there is no cooking or special equipment required. One of my favorite parts of desserts like this is that most of the work happens the day before, so you can entertain or celebrate with your family without having to spend as much time in the kitchen.

Cranberry Orange Sorbet

Cranberry and orange are a wonderful combination.

Many traditional cranberry sauces feature the citrus fruit because of how it complements the berries. In fact, this recipe is very similar to a cranberry sauce recipe, but with more sugar and water than you might use. The extra sugar helps the texture of the finished sorbet stay soft and smooth. You may want to experiment with different types of sugar. I love replacing some of the sugar with maple syrup in my cranberry recipes.

Cranberry Gingersnap Ice Cream Pie

Gingersnaps are another fantastic holiday flavor. I use them to make the crust for my pumpkin cheesecake, but they also make a great crust for an ice cream pie. Although this recipe uses a can of whole berry cranberry sauce, you can also substitute your own. Use your leftovers, or make a batch of the next recipe. It's perfect for pie.

 

Cranberry Sauce

This is what I eat over vanilla ice cream the day after Thanksgiving. If you have leftover ice cream from your apple pie and leftover cranberry sauce from dinner, toss them together. Tart and tangy cranberry sauce is a great pairing for sweet vanilla ice cream. Cranberries make the perfect dessert sauce for the holiday season. They are incredibly easy to cook and you can adjust the recipe to suit your preferences.